There are many environments in which the local situation would be hazardous to human beings. One such environment may be at high levels. This would include in and around nuclear plants, radioisotope processing plants and the like. In these environments, it is mandatory to regularly inspect the main components during their operation. The high levels of ionizing radiation make the exposure times for human crews very short and, in some instances, even impossible. In addition to routine inspections, there are often situations that exist that necessitate rapid intervention during emergencies. In addition to the high radioactive field, there are often high temperatures and difficult access due to the geometry and congestion of the work place.
Still another environment in which it is very hazardous for intervention by human beings is that involving very dangerous military or paramilitary actions. This includes, for example, investigations for explosives, mine clearance and neutralizing, reconnaissance in a combat area and such activities. Here again, there is often a difficult access due to the geometry and congestion of the working space in the form of narrow halls, stairs, etc.
Closely associated with the military or paramilitary actions are those involved in inspection for fire and control of the same. Each year, numerous fire fighters are injured or killed due to their presence in areas to assess the potential for fire damage with the result that escape routes are closed, buildings collapse and the like.
It has long been recognized that it would be desirable to utilize remotely controlled vehicles in these areas to minimize the hazardous potential to human beings. In fact, various apparatus have been developed to accomplish this purpose. For example, a document entitled "Remote Sensing Technology Proceedings, 32nd Conference On Remote Systems Technology" Vol. 2, 1984, pages 11-18, discloses a remotely controlled vehicle. This vehicle, while mounted on tracks, nevertheless is intended for very specific applications and offers relatively limited capabilities due to its bulk, and its limited monitoring and control equipment. In particular, it is nearly impossible to guide this vehicle over rough terrain for lack of adequate control means and because the remotely controlled vehicle handles relatively poorly. Other remotely controlled vehicles are also known in the prior art, but are excessively large and handle poorly so that their use is limited to applications outside of those wherein there is close confinement.
As an attempt to overcome the problems of prior art remotely controlled vehicles, a vehicle identified as "ANDROS" was developed by ACEC in Belgium. This device had a relatively small and lightweight frame with an independently driven track mounted on each side thereof. In addition, there are a pair of tracks forward of the frame which can be maintained in a horizontal, elevated or depressed position. Similarly, there are a pair of rearward extending tracks which are individually driven, with these tracks also being able to be raised or lowered. Because of this feature, the ANDROS apparatus can be moved across a wide variety of terrain including, but not limited to, staircases. Mounted above the main frame in ANDROS is a segmented compartment for electronics and power supplies, and for circuits for the receipt of vehicle operating signals from a remote location. There is a deployable arm mounted above this control box which can carry at its end various types of equipment, including tongs and the like. This arm is provided with a shoulder joint, an elbow joint and a wrist "roll" in addition to the tongs, etc. Video and light equipment are mounted on the arm so as to illuminate the area of operation of the tools. Wiring to all of the components is external and the arm can only be moved in a vertical plane centered above the vehicle. A remotely viewed video screen displays the image as seen by the video cameras, and an inclinometer mounted in the frame is used to determine a relative position of the frame to the terrain.
Although the ANDROS unit as developed by ACEC of Belgium is deemed to be a very versatile climbing and maneuvering all-terrain vehicle and has a very small "foot print" (the area of the terrain occupied by the vehicle), it has certain disadvantages. These include the limited protection of some components from damage due to water and/or temperature. For example, all of the electrical connections between components are made external to those components such that the damage can easily occur. Furthermore, this construction raises the possibility of physical damage to the electrical wiring system when the vehicle is used in military or paramilitary applications. The inclinometer system of the vehicle is expensive and is subject to a high degree of damage. Also, many of the components were specifically fabricated for this device, thus, increasing substantially the cost of its manufacture. For these and other reasons, an improved version was desirable to provide a vehicle that could be adapted for many types of utilization.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remotely controlled vehicle that is useful for movement in a hostile environment such as nuclear radiations, high temperature and military and paramilitary utilization.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an all terrain remotely controlled vehicle equipped with necessary instrumentation and mechanism to carry out various actions in these hostile environments.
An additional object is to provide a vehicle of this type wherein the electrical system thereof is adequately protected from the hazards of the environment in which the vehicle is operated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a remotely controlled vehicle that is provided with substantially simplified means for determining the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the terrain over which it is has moved.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a remotely controlled vehicle wherein components are more easily removed and replaced than vehicles of the prior art, and the cost of such components is reduced.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a remotely controlled vehicle wherein the drive mechanism is readily disengaged such that the vehicle can be moved out of the hazardous environment with less effort than those of the prior art.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a remotely controlled all terrain vehicle having an arm for deployment with additional degrees of movement, rather than three as provided for in the prior art, so that operations can be carried out in any direction with respect to the vehicle body itself.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the drawings identified below and the detailed description of these and other aspects of the present invention.